The Plague of the Shadow Usul
by gymgurlerika
Summary: Neopets all over Neopia are excited about the upcoming season. . . Christmas season. But when a Bruce turns up dead outside the Neopian Coffee House, only one feeling remains in the air, fear. Who will be next? Rated R for Disturbing Words, Language, and
1. Prologue

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
  
  
Trista trotted down the icy walk way. Neopian winters were beautiful, especially to Uni's, such as herself.  
  
No better time to go shopping. Uni's Clothing was stocked full with winter scarfs and coats, the air was filled with the  
  
smell of Christmas cookies from the nearby bakery, and the wishing well was decked out in bright lights in shades of  
  
green and red. Her Christmas shopping list was complete, and she had just enough neopoints to buy a special  
  
something for hers truly- herself. She pressed her nose up against the card shop window. There they were. The 12  
  
Special Edition Shadow Usul collectable cards. Only 12 were made, and Trista had her eyes all over them. She knew  
  
she had to get one. Full of glee and excitement, she walked into the shop. The card buzz, Larry sat behind the  
  
counter, counting his card collection, and when Trista walked in he dropped his cards on the counter and ran to her,  
  
hugging her.   
  
"Trista, my dear, how are you? And Merry Christmas!" Larry said patting her on the back.  
  
"Hello Larry, Merry Christmas to you too! So, I hear you have the 12 Special Edition Cards. . ." Trista said,  
  
slyly, "How much are they going for?"   
  
"Ah , the Shadow Usul cards"Larry said, happy that he had a customer, "Well there so rare, I can't let them  
  
go for less than 1,368NP a piece." Trista looked into her wallet. She counted her neopoints.  
  
"What do you say to about 1,200NP even?" Trista haggled.  
  
"1,300, No less!" Larry said firmly.  
  
"Oh come on Larry! I gotta eat you know!" Trista said persuasively, "1,250NP?"  
  
"Deal!" Larry said stepping behind the counter once more, "but only because you're a regular customer.  
  
How's your deck coming by the way?" he walked over to the showcase, and pulled an Usul card off the showcase. He  
  
then put it in a card protector and walked behind the counter again.  
  
"Oh, I need about 10 more cards to have the entire collection that's ever come out in the history of Neopia"  
  
Trista said, handing Larry the neopoints.  
  
"Well that's what happens when you've been coming in here since you were born!"Larry, "Now you take  
  
care!" he handed her the card.  
  
"Thank you, Merry Christmas!" Trista yelled as she left out the door.  
  
"Merry Christmas!"Larry yelled back.  
  
Trista came back to her neohome, and switched on the lights. She set her gifts and gift wrap on the kitchen  
  
table and walked into her bedroom. She opened er closet, and stuck her precious card in her safety deposit box.  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.   
  
"Who could that be?" Trista said. She walked to the front door and opened it up. It was her Aisha friend,  
  
Sarina.  
  
"Sarina!" Trista said, hugging her, "Merry Christmas!"  
  
"Merry Christmas!" Sarina answered.  
  
"Come in! Trista exclaimed, opening the door wider. Sarina walked in.  
  
"Oh, wait a second" Trista said. She ran to the table, and quickly hid Sarina's present.   
  
"So" Sarina said, sitting down on the couch, "Have you gotten the new Usul card yet?"  
  
"Yep! I got the first one" Trista boasted.  
  
"Lucky! I got the last one! They're already sold out!" Sarina said, smiling.  
  
"Well, how much did you get yours for?" Trista asked.   
  
"1,500NP" Sarina said, in a "matter of fact" like tone.  
  
"HA!" Trista laughed teasingly, "I got mine for 1,250NP!"  
  
"Man!" Sarina said in disbelief, "but that's because you got the first one. Mine was bound to cost more!  
  
Anyway, I came over because Ashton and Richard wanted to go to the coffee house for a Purple Juppie Deluxe.  
  
Wanna come?"  
  
"I don't know. . ." Trista said reluctancy, "This sounds like a date attempt. Who asked?"  
  
"Ashton" Sarina said.  
  
"Total date attempt. You know he wants to ask me out!" Trista said, "This is a total set up!"  
  
"What's wrong with a Gelert dating a uni?" Sarina said.  
  
"Nothing, it's just that it's Ashton. Ashton, who sang "Life After Love" by Cher for the National Neopian  
  
Talent Show. Ashton, who bought me a bouquet of paper flowers for my birthday in the 3rd grade!"  
  
"I think it's cute" Sarina said.  
  
"Well at least Richard is the same species as you!" Trista said. There was an awkward silence.  
  
"Oh, Come on!" Sarina said, breaking the ice, "I'm not asking you to kiss him or anything! Just come as a  
  
friend! Please?!?!?!?"  
  
"Ok, fine" Trista finally agreed.   
  
"Ok, then we gotta go, like, now!" Sarina said.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sarina and Trista looked in through the crowded coffee house. Neopets were bustling in and out with their  
  
Puppyblews, and Kadoties carrying coffee and muffins. Some sat at tables chatting no doubt about the Christmas  
  
cheer that was spreading all throughout Neopia. At the far table sat Ashton and Richard. Richard was wearing a red  
  
winter coat, which looked extremely good with his green fur coat. He looked "in the season". Ashton was wearing his  
  
usual: A red scarf that could barely be seen unless you were up close, given that his coat was bright red. Sarina and  
  
Trista entered the building, and were greeted by the smell of roasted Juppie , and Tigersquash. Richard spotted them  
  
and signaled them over. Trista fought through the crowd over towards them.   
  
"Hello Richard, Hello Ashton" she said, cheerfully.  
  
"Hello" they said in unison.  
  
"Merry Christmas" Ashton said.  
  
"Same to you" Trista said. Ashton blushed a little.  
  
"I'm gonna go get a- " Trista began but Richard cut her off.  
  
"Already ordered for you. Tigersquash Deluxe with 2 shots ok?"   
  
"Ah, two shots. It's like you read my mind!" Trista said, taking a seat.  
  
"Where's Sarina?" Richard asked.   
  
"Getting the muffins. Blueberry ok?" Trista said.  
  
"Perfect" Ashton said. Sarina came back with the muffins and passed them out.   
  
"Say hello to owners of the Shadow Usul collectibles" Sarina said, striking a pose, with Trista.  
  
"We bought them too!" Ashton said.  
  
"Cool" Trista said. Ashton and Richard went into their conversations.  
  
"Hold it" Sarina whispered to Trista, "Hot Uni waiter, 10:00"  
  
"Where?" Trista said, excitedly.   
  
"Over there" Sarina said. He had a green coat, just like Trista, and had a single earring on his left ear. He  
  
was walking over towards them.  
  
"Oh my gosh, he's coming over here" Sarina said, "act gorgeous." He came by with their four coffees and  
  
handed them out.   
  
"Ok, You two got the Red Juppie Supremes" he said, handing their coffees to Richard and Ashton, "And  
  
you two got the Tigersquash Deluxe?"   
  
"Yes" Sarina said taking her coffee.  
  
"Thank You-" Trista said.  
  
"Tobey" The waiter said.  
  
"Thank You Tobey" Trista said, smiling.  
  
"You're welcome, Merry Christmas" he said, smiling back. He walked away with one last look at Trista.  
  
"Oh, he digs you!" Sarina said, squealing a little.  
  
"Shh" Trista said, slapping her. She took a sip of her coffee, and looked out the window. By the light of the  
  
coffee house she could see a wisp of something. Like a shadow, or a silhouette. It was looking in, right at her and her  
  
friends. The lighting , however, made it impossible to reveal the shape off whatever it was that was looking in, and  
  
before long it was gone.  
  
"What'cha lookin' at?" Richard asked, looking out the window.  
  
"Nothing" Trista said, and she returned to her coffee. Just then, a Bruce burst into the coffee house. He was  
  
all sweaty like, and was panting trying to catch his breath. He looked disturbed.  
  
"HELP!!!" he screamed.  
  
"What is it?" the shopkeeper said.  
  
"My sister! *pant pant* she's been murdered!" he said. The entire coffee house went silent.   
  
"Where is she?" the shopkeeper said, phoning the police.  
  
"Right outside the coffee house!" the Bruce yelled.  
  
"Get this man some coffee!" The shopkeeper said, then he began to talk on the phone. "Hello, police?  
  
There's been a murder." His expression changed suddenly from shock, to agitation. "Yes, I'll hold." 


	2. Chapter 1:Detective Denver Draik

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
Chapter 1: Detective "Denver" Draik  
  
About 20 minutes later, three police cars and an ambulance showed up at the scene of the murder. The people of the coffee house had bustled out to see what had happened. There, in the middle of the street, lay a Bruce. She looked about the same age as Trista and her friends. She had a silver coat, and she had a surprised look on her face. There was no blood, but she was definitely dead. When Trista looked at her, a chill went up her spine. She didn't like this.  
  
"Step aside" said a chia cop. He pushed Trista out of the way, and looked at the dead body.  
  
"Yep, she's dead alright" he said.  
  
"We know that!" the victim's brother said, "But who killed my sister!" he began to tear.  
  
"Well, whoever did it was a professional. I can't seem to find any evidence that shows she was murdered. She could've just dropped dead."  
  
"Nope, that's not how it went down" said a voice from inside the crowd. The crowd parted to reveal a Neopet standing still as a statue in the middle of the street. He had on a brown cloak, and a hat covered his face. He was flipping a neopoint with his fingers.   
  
"Who are you?" the Chia cop asked. The Neopet lifted his hat, to reveal that he was in fact, a Draik. He had red scales, and his eyes were a deep blue.  
  
"My names Draik. Denver Draik."  
  
"Denver Draik?" the Chia inquired.  
  
"Got a problem with it?" Denver said smugly, "I'm a private eye. Now show me the victim." The Chia cop stood aside, and let Denver Draik through. He looked down at the victim. 30 seconds later, he smiled and whispered, "Just as I thought. . ." He turned to the crowd.  
  
"This may shock you, but this woman was not killed by anything . . . living." There were gasps from the crowd. But the Chia cop laughed.  
  
"That's impossible! He's crazy!"  
  
"Actually, I'm not" Denver Draik said, "This woman was strangled to death by the Shadow Usul. See this" he pointed to the victim's neck. Trista pushed past and looked at the neck. There was a ring of dark color around her neck.   
  
"Those marks can only mean one person" Denver said, "Shadow Usul."  
  
"Who's Shadow Usul?" Ashton asked.  
  
"You've never heard the tale?" Denver asked. "Then I guess it's time to explain."  
  
"A long time ago, there was a woman who decided she wanted to own an Usul. She found this beautiful Usul. It's coat was luminous, and it had a ring of blue fur that almost glowed. Even her shadow was beautiful. So the woman named her Shadow Gazer. Shadow Gazer loved her owner, and Shadow Gazer's owner loved how beautiful Shadow Gazer was. She didn't really love Shadow Gazer.   
  
One day as Shadow Gazer and her owner were walking down the streets of Neopia, they saw a flyer saying the first annual beauty pageant was to be held in Neopia square. Try outs would be held that afternoon. Shadow Gazer's owner knew how beautiful Shadow gazer was, and immediately entered her in. She made the cut of course, and went on to win not only best of her species, but first place out of all species. For the next 10 years, the other pageant contestants would lose to the legend that was Shadow Gazer. Then, the eleventh year, Shadow Gazer was beat by a Gelert named Fire blazer the fire Gelert. Shadow Gazer's owner was furious, and decided the only way to make sure Shadow Gazer saw how serious her "sin" was, was to take a large baseball bat and hit her until she bled. Shadow Gazer believed the pain she was experiencing was her fault, and she submitted to every blow. Every time she got even first runner up to the small pageants she practiced in, she would be beaten till she bled. Finally, the 12th annual Beauty Pageant came around, but Shadow Gazer's coat was no longer luminous. The ring of blue fur around her neck was coming out , and blood clots could be seen everywhere from her coat, to wedged in between her toes. Her eyes had become blood shot, and it was said that even her shadow fled from her in horror. She didn't even make the cut that year. Her owner gave her twice the beating that day, yet Shadow Gazer still believed it was her fault. That year, Shadow Gazer was nominated for the ugliest pet alive. Shadow Gazer's owner had gone mad with fury. That night, there was murder. Shadow Gazer was found in her neohome, strangled to death, and her owner was no where to be found. Since then, Shadow Gazer has walked the streets of Neopia Central, whispering words of death to all who dare listen, speaking of the day when justice will be served. The day for Shadow Usul's justice has come."  
  
"But, why did she choose my sister!" the Bruce yelled, in agony.  
  
"I don't know. There's something not told here" Denver said.  
  
"What shall we do?" said a panicked Cybunny.  
  
"I don't want to be strangled to death!" shouted a Lenny.  
  
"I've studied this Usul before. It only shows up at night. Shop in the day, lock your doors at night. And stay in numbers. Until we discover the reason this Bruce was killed, no one is safe" Denver said, getting up, "I want this body inspected, everything she had with her, everything in her neohome, there must be some clue. . ." With that, Denver got up, got onto his bicycle, and rode of into the night. Everyone at the crime scene was silent.  
  
"There's something in her pocket!" the Chia cop exclaimed suddenly. He reached in and pulled out a shard of glass.  
  
"It's a piece of a mirror. . ." he said stunned. Trista had a bad feeling in the gut of her stomach. Just this evening, she had gotten her new card, she had her Christmas shopping all done, she had a great coffee, and now, she was being told that she could die any second now.   
  
"Ashton?" she said. Ashton came back from the trance he was in.  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Take me home. . ." 


	3. Chapter 2:Murder Continues

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
Chapter 2 : Murder Continues  
  
This Chapter rated PG-13 for Language  
  
Denver Draik walked into the bakery. It was almost completely deserted. The bread master looked up.  
  
"Ah, Denver, the usual I presume?" he said.  
  
"Yes, a butter croissant and a coffee" Denver said. He plopped in a chair and sighed. The bread master brought the order to him, along with something for himself.  
  
"How much do I ow ya?" Denver asked.  
  
"This ones on the house. Have you any clues as to that murder?"   
  
"Not one" Denver said sipping his coffee, "She's normal. No motive has come into focus."  
  
"Great" the bread master said, "so she could've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. . ."  
  
"Not likely" Denver added, "Shadow Gazer isn't that random. I imagine her victims were chosen for a purpose."  
  
"Anything shown up at the house?" the bread master asked.   
  
"Nope. The items have been given away to those who were on her will. Her card collection, her make-up, her collectibles, her plushies, everything. The family business has been taken over. . .Nothing showed up." Denver took a huge bite out of his croissant. "Nothing at all. How strange. . ."  
  
"All I know is, if anyone can solve this mystery, it's you Denver."  
  
"The biggest problem is I can't target anything! The mirror piece was her signature sign. But what sets her apart?"  
  
"Maybe she's part of a gang being targeted" the bread master suggested.  
  
"No she wasn't part of gangs. She was part of a guild, but aren't we all?"  
  
"Maybe you should interview her friends and brother" the bread master thought.  
  
"They said she was normal, but I haven't talked to the brother yet. . . " Denver said.  
  
"Well, that should be your next stop don't you think?" the bread master said.  
  
"Yeah, I should go now" Denver said. He drank the last of his coffee and shoved the croissant in his pocket.  
  
"Be careful" Denver said.  
  
"Right back at ya" the bread master said. They hugged and Denver walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Denver stepped onto the side walk and pulled his coat up over his chest. The brother, Marcus, lived in the forest, crazy bastard. Who'd want to live in there during these times? The Shadow Usul was sure to be living somewhere in there. Draik got onto his bike and after taking a bite of his croissant, he rode off towards the Haunted Forest.  
  
After about an hour, Denver passed a broken piece of wood stuck in the ground labeled, "Haunted Woods."   
  
"Goodie" Denver said sarcastically to himself. He rode forwards and sure enough, just west of the sign, sat a little cottage. There was smoke coming out of the chimney, and Denver assumed that Marcus was making coffee from the safety of his home, if you want to call his neighborhood safe. Denver knocked on the door. 10 seconds later, Denver heard a crash, a yelp, and then a voice called out,   
  
"Go away! You've already killed my sister! Don't take me too!"   
  
"It's me, Denver. I've come to ask you a few questions. The door opened slowly. To big, watery eyes looked up at Denver.  
  
"Are you alone" the eyes said.  
  
"Yes. . ." Denver answered. The creaked open. Marcus was wearing hideous shorts and sunglasses that didn't match him, or the living area, and he looked panicked.   
  
"Come in quickly!" Marcus said pulling him inside. He shut the door and locked it about six different ways. Denver looked around. The hut smelled heavily of garlic, given that there was a clove of the awful stuff hanging from everywhere it could hang. Lucky Cybunny feet cluttered the ground, and medallions with four leaf clovers were all over his kitchen table. Denver sat down on a chair.  
  
"Tea?" Marcus said, shakily.  
  
"Yes, please" Denver answered pleasantly."Tell me, Marcus, did you notice anything strange about your sisters living habits?" Marcus looked up.   
  
"Oh, no. She did everything a normal Bruce should. She had weird boyfriends, of course, but nothing strange enough to cause this horror. Drink your tea, before it gets cold." Denver looked at Marcus suspiciously.   
  
"What's that on your mantel there?" Denver said. Marcus swerved around, and Denver took the opportunity to take a poison test out of his pocket and slip it into his drink.   
  
"I don't see anything Denver" Marcus said, turning back. The drink turned green. It wasn't poisoned.  
  
"I must've been mistaken. . ." Denver said, taking a large gulp out of his tea. Marcus sat down next to Denver and drank some tea himself .His hands were shaking.  
  
"Are you alright?" Denver asked. The kid seemed a little to shaky.  
  
"Yes, just drink up!" Marcus said. Denver did as he was told. He drank the last of his tea, and was about to put his tea cup back down on the saucer when he saw what was so scary. In the cup, written in pen, were the numbers 9-1-1.  
  
Denver looked up at Marcus. He had a ring of dark around his throat. But it wasn't like his sisters. It was more like it was just circling his throat. Denver nodded. Marcus nodded back. Denver got up and picked a flashlight up off the ground.   
  
"Well, I'll be going now" Denver said, pretending he didn't know about anything that was going on.  
  
"Thanks for stopping by" Marcus said playing along. Denver opened the door, pivoted suddenly, and shined the flashlight right at Marcus's neck. The ring of dark became clearer, and revealed that the ring was in fact to arms and hands, ready to clasp around Marcus's neck. Denver moved up the arms, and shone the light right where a face should be on the thing. Sure enough, there, standing in attack position, was Shadow Gazer, the Shadow Usul. She had piercing red eyes, and she looked at Denver. Her mouth opened suddenly, and she growled.  
  
"Shadow Gazer" Denver said, with bravado hanging off his every word, "You set this Bruce free, or so help me god I will make your miserable life filled with pain and sorrow." Shadow Gazer's teeth went from clenched, to a smile. She laughed. Her laughed sounded like fingernails moving across a chalk board. Then she spoke, and you could almost hear screaming along with her voice.  
  
"You can't stop me! No one can!" She said. She laughed again. Marcus was shivering with fear, and sweating bullets.  
  
"You crazy ass bitch!" Denver said. Shadow Gazer's smile faded. "Get away from that Bruce now!"  
  
"Never!" Shadow Gazer shouted, "You can't-" but she was interrupted. She coughed. IT was a horrible noise. She sputtered, and blood flew from her mouth and her teeth. Her nose began to bleed, even her ears were bleeding. She stopped coughing, and the blood shed stopped. Marcus was now covered in blood, and he was pale white.  
  
"You. . .You can not, and will not ruin this for me!!!" She laughed and her hands and arms wrapped around Marcus's neck. He flailed, and tried to catch his breath. He threw his arms up to his neck, reaching to pull away the thing that was choking him, put his arms went through hers. He flailed and reached for Denver. Denver was frozen in his place. Then the flashlight went dead. In fact, the fireplace went out too. It was completely dark. Denver could still hear Marcus flailing, but it seemed farther away. Soon all he could hear was faint bumping. Then it stopped. The window blew open and as if a breeze had come, something flew out the window, and with one last cackle at Denver, the Shadow Usul escaped.  
  
  
  
Denver tapped on his flashlight. It came back on. He shined it where he last saw Marcus. Marcus wasn't there He reached for a candle stick and matches on the mantel. He lit the candle and began to walk around the house, both lights in his hands.   
  
"Marcus?" he called out, "Marcus where are you?" There was a trail of blood, and Marcus saw that it lead into Marcus's bedroom. There was a puddle of blood and then it stopped. He was definitely in the bedroom. Wether her was alive or not was uncertain. Denver walked into the room and looked under the bed. A couple of odd slippers, dust balls, and empty cans of Necola covered the floor underneath the bed, but no Marcus. Denver opened the closet. Nothing, save his Safety Deposit Box. Suddenly, there was a crash. It sounded like the door slamming behind him.  
  
"Oh thank goodness, Marcu-" Denver began, but he was in shock. The door had indeed shut behind him, but it wasn't shut by Marcus. Denver knew this because, there, hanging from the back of the door, was Marcus. He had a dark ring around his neck, and the Shadow Usul's blood still dripped from his limp, pale body. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head, so his eyes were white, and a few of the veins in his eyes had popped. His legs had been broken and twisted together. His arms had been chopped off, and shoved into the pockets of his pants. Denver finally got his voice back, and asked himself:  
  
"What's he hanging by?" And almost instantly, his question was answered. Marcus fell to the floor, and the secret was revealed. There was an entire mirror shoved into his back, and he was hanging by the hook that would connect to walls.   
  
"So first he was strangled to death, and then he was massacred. . ." Denver thought, feeling extremely sick to his stomach. "This is getting way out of hand." 


	4. Chapter 3:Money Makes the World go Round

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
Chapter 3: Money Makes the World Go Round  
  
News slowly crept out into Neopian Central that Isabella and Marcus were dead. Denver wasn't sure where to go next for clues. He stripped Marcus's house of all items ever owned and took the records of items that Isabella had, hoping to find a connection. That was the thing, they had almost the same things. He had stamp collection, card collection, and an odd collection of paintbrushes. But nothing for a motive. Not one had any relation to Shadow Gazer, or Fire Blazer, or her old master. It didn't make sense. Denver sat in his office pondering. What do I need? He thought.   
  
"A list of Valuables!" He said. He put his cloak on and sat at his desk making a list of valuable things someone might kill a person for. He wrote:  
  
•Neopoints.  
  
•Cards.  
  
•Paintbrushes.  
  
But that was all he could think of.  
  
"That'll do for now" Denver said to himself, shoving the list in his pocket. He grabbed his hat, and shoved it on his head. He got on his bicycle, and rode away towards the National Neopian Bank. The banks was only a few blocks away from his office, which was lucky. He rode to the front, and parked his bike in the front. He then got off and walked in.  
  
  
  
The bank wasn't crowded. People seemed to be staying away from town, and some had even moved to The Space Station, Faerieland, and Krawk Island. Denver took off his hat and set it on a table, and walked up to the counter. "How can I help you sir?" said the Acara behind the counter.  
  
"Uh yes" he said, pulling out his badge, "I'm with the cops, sort of, and I have a warrant to search a few records on Isabella and Marcus Shaw-Bruce." The Acara nodded.  
  
"Right this way sir."   
  
Denver walked into the back room. In that room stood millions and millions of cabinets. They were all labeled with the names, and separated by species. He walked through the room, and found the Bruce section. There were many Shaw-Bruce's but finally Denver found Isabella and Marcus's records. Their files were smaller than the others, but Denver looked through them anyway.   
  
"Sir, if you need to look through them, I can't let you take them out, but you're welcome to sit at a desk out in the foyer and flip through them" the Acara said sweetly, but firmly.  
  
"Thank you" Denver said, walking out to the foyer.  
  
He sat down at a desk and flipped through Isabella's files first. Denver wrote the facts down in list form.   
  
•4-4-03. She started as a Junior Saver with a balance of 4,000 Neopoints.  
  
•5-15-03. She withdrew 300 Neopoints for a big dinner she was serving.  
  
•6-28-03. She withdrew 500 Neopoints for usual shopping.  
  
•8-1-03. She withdrew 2,000 Neopoints for special collectable.  
  
•8-1-03. She withdrew 200 Neopoints for her friends birthday present.  
  
Denver stopped suddenly, shocked at what he read.  
  
•8-1-03. She deposited 150,000 Neopoints from special business.  
  
•8-1-03. She withdrew 50,000 Neopoints for special gift.  
  
•8-1-03. She upgraded to Diamond Deposit Savings.  
  
Denver read over the paper again.   
  
"Special business?" he said to himself. He turned to the Acara. "Excuse me" he asked, "do you have a photo copier here?" The Acara pointed to a corner of the room where a photo copier stood. Denver walked over and copied the files. He then returned to his desk, put the photo copy in his research folder, and opened up Marcus's papers. The facts went differently.  
  
•8-1-03. He Started out as a Double Platinum Saver saver with an additional deposit of 52,300 Neopoints.  
  
•8-1-03. He withdrew 2,300 Neopoints for collectable.  
  
•8-2-03. He withdrew 10,000 Neopoints for food storage.  
  
•8-2-03. He downgraded to Platinum Extra saver.  
  
Denver looked at the paper. His brain was working wildly. The same day Isabella received 150,000 Neopoints for "special business" and gave away 50,000 Neopoints of that for a special gift, Marcus starts an account with 50,000 Neopoints. So they had money. But then again, why would Shadow gazer care about money. And what was the special business? Something sure was fishy about this. Denver photo copied Marcus's files, and gave the original's back to the Acara.  
  
"Thank you!" he said, leaving the National Neopian.   
  
Denver's head was swimming. Even he doesn't make that much a year, and she managed to some how come up with 150,000 Neopoints in one day, not to mention that she gives the same amount of money as her brother receives that same day. And the similarity? They're both collectors of all kinds of odd objects. Why would the Usul go after them? Denver needed to find out before another pet ended up dead, but no clues had come up yet. No significant clues had. He'd just have to talk to the friends again.  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
Trista sat at her table in her neohome. She felt cooped up. She couldn't leave her house, but she couldn't not stay. Her food storage was fine, she had enough coffee to last a life time, but her morale was in bad shaped. She felt like she was in some kind of prison, that she could escape, if it wasn't for the overwhelming fear guarding the door. She flipped a neopoint with her fingers. She'd played all her games, used up all her drawing paper, and watched all of her movies at least 15 times each. She looked down at her stomach.  
  
"I'm gettin' fat" she cringed, "That's it! I'm going out for a run!!" She jumped up and let the neopoint fall to the ground. She grabbed her house key, her coat and her scarf, and left, locking the door tightly.  
  
Trista walked into town. The Christmas lights that had hung on the shops, lay on the ground, unnoticed. The town was empty, save one pet walking down the same walk way as herself. She needed company, and ran up to him.   
  
"Hi!" Trista said. The pet jumped a little and swerved around. It was Denver Draik. "Denver, is it?"  
  
"Yes?" Denver said.  
  
"Any luck with the case?" Trista asked.  
  
"Not much" Denver said, playing with his feet, "Nothing that leads to a motive."  
  
"Well, mind if I walk with you? I'm in desperate need of company. If I don't die because of this whole thing, I'm bound to go mad with loneliness" Trista asked.  
  
"Free country isn't it?" Denver answered, lighting up his pipe, "I was just heading down to the coffee house in the art center. Care to join me for a Golden Juppie Delight?"  
  
"Sure" Trista said.  
  
They walked and talked for a while, until they finally showed up at the coffee house. It was full of pets, but the Christmas cheer that had been there before was definitely gone. Pets stood in the doorway, scowling and gossiping. Some drunks were in the back having a drinking contest.  
  
"So sad what happens to pets when they're faced with danger" Trista said. Suddenly, in the crowd, Trista could make out Ashton's petite figure.  
  
"Hey there's Ashton!" Trista said, "Can he join us?"  
  
"Yeah sure, whatever" Denver said, putting out his pipe. A black Kadotie ran across the ally way.  
  
"Oh crud, get inside" Denver said, pushing her inside.  
  
"What?" Trista asked, when they were both inside.  
  
"Black Kadoties are bad luck" Denver said. Just then Tobey bumped into them.  
  
"Trista!" Tobey said.  
  
"Tobey!" she answered. There was an awkward pause.  
  
"I'll be with you in a moment" he said, rushing over to take some cranky old Mynci's order. 


	5. Chapter 4: Discovery, Murder, and Betray...

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
Chapter 4: Discovery, Murder, and Betrayal  
  
Time was being lost. It had been a week since the Murder of Marcus, and Denver had found no more clues. There was something right in front of his face and he knew it. He sat at his desk, flipping through the bank accounts. If money was the clue, then why did she kill them? Why not Bruce Billionaire, the richest Neopet in Neopian Central? Money couldn't be the issue. . .  
  
"I'm on the wrong track!" Denver screamed, picking up his lamp and throwing it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into tiny pieces. He ran his paw through his hair. He looked down at the shards. One was square, and as Denver saw his reflection in it, he realized the worst. "Oh my gosh!" Denver ran out the door, leaving the glass scattered on the ground.  
  
He raced to his scooter and quickly kicked off towards the town. It was another week till Christmas, and the pets of Neopia started bustling again. Many had forgotten the Murders. Yet some still stayed barricaded in their homes. Denver rode into town. The people about him shouted words of joy and yuletide splendor, but he paid no heed to them. He stopped his scooter right in front of the Collectable Card Store. There, in the window, was an empty showcase with the words "Shadow Usul Collectable's Sold Out."   
  
"Damn!" Denver shouted, and he ran inside.   
  
Larry was sitting behind the counter, talking to no body. He was mumbling a little, twitching.  
  
"Told him it wasn't safe" he said, his big bulgy eyes watering.   
  
"Larry?" Denver said. Larry came back to his senses, or so Denver thought.   
  
"Yes, what can I do for you. . . Denver" Larry said, his eyes twitching.  
  
"I need the sales records of the Shadow Usul cards. Can you show me those?" Denver asked.  
  
"..sss...Sure" Larry said. He suddenly went back into his other mode, while he walked into the back room. "I'm too superstitious am I? Well, look what happened now?"  
  
Larry appeared again and walked over to Denver. "Here" he said. He held out his shaking hand with the records towards Denver. Denver tried to grab them, but Larry's grasp on them was too strong.  
  
"What's your problem?" Denver asked. Larry looked up at him as if suddenly angered.  
  
"PROBLEM?!?!?!" He screamed, his eyes twitching, "NO PROBLEM! JUST FINE, NOW TAKE THE RECORDS!!!" He let go of the papers and ran around the room, screaming the same words over and over.  
  
"MURDER! MURDER! MURDER!" Larry screamed getting on his back and rolling around the shop. Denver was a little freaked out. Suddenly there was a scream from outside. Denver ran out leaving Larry curled up in a ball on the ground.  
  
A Tonu stood outside in horror pointing towards the bakery. Denver ran over to him.   
  
"What's the screaming here?" Denver said, not quite sure it came out right.  
  
" . . . . . . You don't see it?" the Tonu said, pointing to the window again. Denver reluctantly looked towards the window. He wish he hadn't. There was blood splattered all over the window and there were a few odd objects sitting on the ground inside. This was when Denver hated being a detective. Denver slowly walked towards the bakery. He tried to open the door but it was locked. He pulled out his rainbow gun, and shot at the glass. The door fell down. . . and so did the bread masters head. His ears, eyes, nose, lips, and tongue were all missing. The odd objects on the ground were his pancreas and liver. Denver walked inside. All the bread, cookies, muffins, everything had been taken off the shelves. Instead, in the showcase were a few disgusting objects. There were ears of the bread master on a plate, and eyes in a bowl labeled "Eye Candy". There was a tongue with chopped up lips surrounding it on a plate sitting next to the eye candy, and on the counter, there was a plate of doughnuts. They were blue, and had a red frosting. Denver reached for one, but quickly pulled back. The frosting was blood, and the actual doughnuts were the bread master's legs and arms, chopped into circles. He could see in the back a decorated kacheek torso, made in the shape of a cake. Denver couldn't contain himself, and he saw his breakfast again.  
  
"I didn't have any corn!" Denver said, reuniting with his breakfast. Just then Trista walked in.  
  
"Oh my god!" Trista screamed.  
  
"Miss, step back!" Denver said. Trista did as she was told. Denver sniffed the air. The stench of fresh blood still wafted through the air, and Denver felt sick again. He ran over to the cash register, pulling off the tail of the bread master. It was empty, save the one thing that Denver had discovered. There was a Shadow Usul Special Edition Collectable Card.  
  
"It's not money" Denver whispered to himself. He looked at the sales records. Sure enough, The bread master had bought one. But the picture was different then the original. The Usul was smiling in the card, and there was blood dripping from her paw.  
  
"Oh great" Denver said. He picked up the card. It felt heavy. He shoved it into his evidence pocket, and walked out of the shop, Trista tailing him.  
  
  
  
Neopets crowded around the shop. A few reporters lingered also. When Denver walked out, they all ran towards him, drowning him with questions.   
  
"What happened here?"  
  
"Is this another attack of the Shadow Usul?"  
  
"What's the casualty number?"  
  
"Is it true that the Bread Master is 'Budding up Daisies'?"  
  
"Are you any closer to convicting this criminal?"  
  
Denver signaled for them all to shut up. The crowd went as silent as the grave. Denver took a deep breath, and began to explain the situation.  
  
"The Bread Master has been murdered. The obvious suspect is the Shadow Usul. The Bakery will close in a few minutes. No one is to go in or out. For now, everyone is to go on with their lives. We don't want to let the enemy know that we're frightened. No other comments" He stepped forward, and the crowd parted. He walked towards his scooter.   
  
"DENVER!" Trista called out. Denver turned. She ran towards him.  
  
"Coffee?" she asked.  
  
"Coffee sounds great" Denver said. He got off his scooter and walked with her over to the art center.  
  
Ashton watched as the two of them walked off. He sighed and looked down at his sandwich, then looked inside the bakery. Before long, the fresh deli sandwich was in the trash can, joined by doughnuts, cakes, and chia pops of all assorted flavors. He watched as Denver and Trista walked into the coffee shop, and suddenly an anger grew in his gut. He got up and marched towards the coffee house. Half way there, he stopped to think out loud.  
  
"Yeah right! Ashton, what are you thinking? Like Trista would date outside her species!" He laughed but stopped abruptly.  
  
"Or would she?. . . . Oh pull yourself together! I can't barge in there and crash her outing!" That's when a little lightbulb went on.  
  
"Well ,I don't have to go in for her. . . ." Ashton laughed again, but his tone had changed greatly. He ran towards the coffee house, and opened the door quickly. He pulled his hat over his eyes, and walked up to the counter.   
  
"I'll take a Kraku Berry Mocha Mocha, with whipped cream please" he said, smiling. The Cybunny at the counter handed him a orange card with the words KBMM on it.   
  
"Your coffee will be done in a second sir" she said smiling.   
  
"Wonderful" he said, evilly. Her smile faded.   
  
  
  
Ashton looked around. There, sitting at the back of the coffee house , were Denver and Trista. There was a booth right next to them, and Ashton hurried over towards it. He picked up a menu to hide his face, as he listened intently to there conversation.  
  
Denver cleared his throat.   
  
"So, how have you been?" he asked Trista. Ashton's stomach churned.  
  
"Good" Trista answered, "What's that in you hand?" Ashton stopped breathing. He needed this information.  
  
"They're records. Sales records I got from the Card Master, Larry"  
  
"You don't think. . . "  
  
"That's what all the clues are pointing towards. It looks like the card's the key. See here. . " Some papers rustled.  
  
"Isabella, Marcus, The Bread Master, they all bought those cards. . ."  
  
"So whoever still has them is dead!?"  
  
"No, whoever bought one is dead. Marcus's was in his fireplace and he still died."  
  
"Oh my god, I bought a card!"  
  
"Then we better solve this mystery quick"  
  
Ashton's face burned up. We. He contained himself, as a waitress yelled out " Grande Kraku Berry Mocha Mocha, with whipped cream?"  
  
Ashton got up. He'd heard enough for the day. He grabbed his coffee, and walked out the door.  
  
"Denver Draik" Ashton whispered to himself, as he took a sip of coffee. "The Draik that would be king of my girlfriend." Ashton looked down at the ground. He could see the two of them together, which made his insides boil.  
  
"Denver should Die!" 


	6. Chapter 5: Special Delivery

? The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 : Special Delivery  
  
  
  
No more breaks. Denver thought about the murders. All of them must've come from the cards. He sat at the  
  
desk and flipped through the sales records. Isabella , Marcus, The Bread Master. . . Al of them had bought the  
  
cards. There were still nine more records. He looked closely at them all. He read the next one in the pile out loud to  
  
himself:  
  
"Name: Rupert Maroo.  
  
Species: Blumaroo.  
  
Business : Usuki Collector Salesman.  
  
Final Sales Price : 1, 400 NP.  
  
Home address : Not Applicable."   
  
"Oh Goodie" Denver said, "now I gotta hunt him down. Well at least we have his business." Denver flipped to the  
  
next one.  
  
"Name: Ashton Trel  
  
Species: Gelert.  
  
Business : Unemployed.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1, 500 NP.  
  
Home Address: 17825 Neopia Drive  
  
Neopia Central, Neopia 67834"  
  
"Well, at least we got this guys address. . ." Denver thought out loud. He opened his fatigued jaws and yawned  
  
loudly. Then he flipped to the next record:  
  
" Name: Shane Epul. ( "Epul?" Denver exclaimed, "poor fella' " )  
  
Species: Lupe.   
  
Business : Toy Salesman.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1, 700 NP.  
  
Home Address: Not applicable."  
  
"Another genius" Denver laughed. He pulled out the next one.  
  
"Name-" Denver froze. "Oh god" he whispered. Then he continued.  
  
"Name: Trista Inu.  
  
Species: Uni.  
  
Business: Café Acara Waitress.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1,250 NP.  
  
Home Address: 17820 Neopia Drive  
  
Neopian Central, Neopia 67834"  
  
"Trista. . . " He said, a tear glistening in his eye. He loved her. The minute he laid his eyes on her, he knew she was  
  
his muse, his reason of being. He couldn't tell her. They weren't of the same species. Besides, he promised his heart  
  
to an Ixi a month ago, Jasmine Xii. Jasmine was a fine Ixi too. She had beautiful gold fur adorned over her entire  
  
body, and sharp gold hooves. Her eyes. . . Her eyes were big and beautiful, like a newborn baby's eyes, taking in all  
  
the world all in a second. Jasmine also wore a charcoal black head dress, a gold and blue collar, and a gold and blue  
  
cape because her owner had won a Desert Paint Brush, and took her to the rainbow pool, coming out with beautiful  
  
Desert clothing, and eyeliner permanently stained on her eyelids. She was beautiful, but his love for Trista was  
  
overpowering Jasmine's beauty. The way Trista's eyes glistened like she had stars trapped in her eyes made his  
  
knees quiver. The way her mane blew in the wind like sea grass in Maraqua's depths. If she were to die. . . he'd  
  
have to tell her. He couldn't bear to hold her in her arms, her not knowing of his passion. He read on.  
  
"Name: Tobey Nui.  
  
Species: Uni.  
  
Business: Café Acara Waiter.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1,300 NP.  
  
Home Address: 15273 Neopian Lady Way  
  
Neopia Central, Neopia 48295"   
  
"My competition" he thought. He knew about Tobey and Trista's little "thing". He was determined to win her. He  
  
withdrew the next record:  
  
"Name: Richard Hasai.  
  
Species: Aisha.  
  
Business: Personal.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1,700 NP.  
  
Home Address: 12390 Cardinal Red Lane  
  
Neopia Central, Neopia."  
  
"Weird, that name sounds familiar. . . ." Denver thought suddenly. He quickly rid the thought from his head, and  
  
read through another record.  
  
"Name: Sarina Shiaa.  
  
Species: Aisha.  
  
Business: Personal.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1,500NP.  
  
Home Address: Not applicable."  
  
"Not another missing address! This is gonna be harder than I thought" Denver said shaking his head. There was a  
  
knock on his door. He got up, letting the last record float down to his desk. He looked through the peep hole, and  
  
saw the mail Scorchio, standing impatiently at the door.  
  
"Hey Colin!" Denver said, opening the door wide.  
  
"Hey Denver" Colin said, smiling a little reluctantly, "Package." He held out a small box. Denver took the  
  
box, a little quickly, and thanked Colin.  
  
"Just sign here" Colin said, holding out a clipboard with a form. Denver signed, and shut the door, letting  
  
Colin go about his business. Denver sat at his desk. The wrapping was regular brown paper and twine. There was no  
  
return address. He untied the twine, and cut the tape with his claws. The brown paper fell and revealed, to Denver's  
  
horror, a Shadow Usul Special Edition Collectable Card. Denver looked at the last record. Sure enough, it read:  
  
Name: Denver Draik.  
  
Species: Draik.  
  
Business: Private Eye.  
  
Final Sales Price: 1,800 NP.  
  
Home Address: Not applicable.  
  
  
  
MAIL TO OFFICE: SPECIAL DELIVERY.  
  
"Shit!!!" Denver screamed. Just then there was a loud crash outside. Denver dropped the record and  
  
slipped the card into his pocket. As he got closer to the door her could hear Colin the Delivery Boy's voice. It was  
  
panicked and out of it's usual tone, like he was frightened.  
  
"Please! Let me go! I told you, I don't know any Denver Draik!"   
  
Denver opened up his door a crack. If his voice box was working, he would have screamed. Colin was  
  
floating in the air, and wrapped around his neck was a long shadowy arm. Denver followed that arm down to the  
  
owner. The Shadow Usul stood about an inch away from Denver, and had a huge frown etched across her horrid  
  
face. She shrieked and yelled,  
  
"LIAR!" Her grip on Colin's neck tightened , and he couldn't breathe. Denver's hand suddenly dove into  
  
his pocket, uncontrollably. He tried to fight it, but it was as if some cold palm was shoving his hands in his pocket,  
  
searching for something. . . and it found what it was looking for. Denver's hand came up again, and grasped in his  
  
quivering hand was the Special Edition Card. The Usul in the picture. . .moved. It looked directly at Denver, and  
  
twinkled. Just then, Shadow Gazer stopped. She released Colin, who got up and ran for his life, and turned towards  
  
Denver's door. Before Denver had time to take a breath, Shadow Gazer flew at him, and grabbing him by the mid  
  
section, threw him across his office. He hit the window making glass shatter and sprinkle across his floor. Denver  
  
had a huge cut across his forehead, and he couldn't move his left leg. Shadow Gazer laughed. It sounded like  
  
squeaky chalk on a dusty chalk board.  
  
"Be gone evil spirit!" Denver yelled, finding his voice again.  
  
"You pathetic little morsel!" Shadow Gazer said, starring straight into his eyes with her piercing red pupils,  
  
"I gave you time! I let you go along spreading my disease. . . Now your time is up!" She opened her mouth to reveal  
  
several Sharp, rusting, festering nails. She extended her arm, and held Denver up to his office wall. Then she took  
  
out a Hammer. Shadow Gazer set the hammer on Denver's Desk, and Spat a nail into her palm. She then stuck it  
  
straight through Denver's stomach, until it was driven into the wall. Denver felt his stomach explode, and his bile  
  
leak into his blood stream, along with the other acids, causing his blood to boil, and his organs to disintegrate. He  
  
wailed in pain as the escaping stomach acids began to eat away at his pancreas. Shadow Gazer just watched him,  
  
with a huge grin across her face. Denver looked down to see his skin leaking with blood. The acid had burned  
  
through his skin and bones. He howled knowing he would be dead in a few seconds. He looked down at Shadow  
  
Gazer. There was something on her leg. It looked like a chain. With all his remaining strength, he managed to spit  
  
out the words,  
  
"Chain anklets are out you know."  
  
Shadow Gazer looked down at her leg, and the smile faded from her terrible face. She stuck her hand out and let  
  
some of the acid fall onto her fingers. It didn't go through her skin. The last thing Denver saw was the burning and  
  
suffering in her eyes. He yelled,  
  
"You're being-" but as Shadow Gazer shoved the acid into his eyes, burning his pupils away slowly,  
  
Denver, Neopia's only hope, passed into the Shadow that is Death. 


	7. Chapter 6:Less Than 21,600 Seconds

? The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
  
  
Chapter 6: Less Than 21,600 Seconds  
  
  
  
It was a mysterious and stormy night. Trista sat on her couch, thinking. Her thoughts dwelled only on  
  
two people, two pets, yet it was confusing. Her head was screaming at her heart. Her head fought for Denver.  
  
So young, so mysterious. . .he was perfect for her no matter the gender. But her heart shouted at the top of its  
  
lungs that choosing Denver would be the wrong decision, as another had patiently waited for her affection.  
  
She heard a knock at the door. She looked at her watch. It was 12:00 a.m.   
  
"Who could that be?" Trista asked herself. She walked to the door and opened it slowly. Denver was  
  
standing out in the rain.   
  
"Denver!" Trista screamed and opened the door wide. Trista ran and hugged him. He didn't hug her  
  
back, which was weird. She felt his back. . . and stepped back in horror. Denver fell to the floor, a dagger  
  
shoved into his back. Suddenly, the Shadow Usul emerged, showing several other daggers in her hands.  
  
"Die Scum!" Shadow Gazer shouted. . . and fell to the floor, on top of Denver. Trista looked down at  
  
Shadow Gazer, and looked out the door. There, stood Ashton. He was holding a pair of lock cutters in his  
  
hands.  
  
"Ashton!"  
  
"Trista!" Trista ran to Ashton, with tears of joy flowing off her cheeks. He grabbed her shoulders and  
  
ran his fingers through her mane, and. . .   
  
Trista jolted awake. She was in bed. There were no dead bodies on her front porch, and it was 4:30  
  
a.m. on the 24th of Christmas. She sighed and pulled back her bed covers, stumbling onto her floor. She  
  
ambled into her bathroom, tripping over her slippers. The mirror revealed that her face was not at it's best.  
  
She grabbed a wash cloth and began to wash the eyeliner off her face. She reapplied her other makeup, and  
  
quickly got into her Christmas clothing. She knew what she had to do. Her dreams tended to mean  
  
something. And if she wasn't mistaken, Denver was going to die very soon. She ran outside, and mounted her  
  
scooter. Denver's apartment complex wasn't too far away, only about a block, and she quickly rode down her  
  
street, desperately thinking of how she was going to approach the subject of his death with Denver.  
  
4:31, 4:35, 4:40. . . . It seemed forever since Trista had the horrid dream, but she finally arrived at  
  
Denver's apartment complex. Trista slid in front of the building, and threw her scooter down, not caring if it  
  
was locked. She galloped toward room 213, his room. She turned the a blind corner, and the most appalling  
  
smell wafted through her unexpecting nose. She gagged, and took an reluctant breath, thinking of Denver.  
  
Denver's door was a crack open, and it appeared to be the source of the reeking air. Trista managed to take  
  
another breath, and yelled at the top of her lungs, barging into the room, "Denver?!" She looked at the wall,  
  
and vomited all over Denver's wood floors. Denver, or at least his remainders were pinned to the wall. On the  
  
ground were hiss rotting liver, heart, and stomach. His brains had been strewn across the floor and, heaven  
  
forbid, gnawed on. His eyeballs had a hole through the pupils, and had rolled a foot away from his "body".  
  
His head was lying on the ground, a look of extreme pain etched across the rest of his face. His large  
  
intestines were strewn across his kitchen table ,and a note was scribbled onto a napkin, in a ring of his blood.  
  
Trista walked over to the table, grabbed the note, then ran from the room. She ran, and ran, until she had left  
  
Denver, her scooter, and all the horrid memories far behind.   
  
Tears were streaming down from her wide eyes. She sat in Neopia Central, looking at the clouds. A  
  
siren rang out, and Trista assumed she was no longer the only one who had smelt Denver's defeat. Her dream  
  
was true . The Shadow Usul had killed Denver. She looked at the note for the first time. To her horror, it was  
  
written in his blood. It read,  
  
"To whoever reads this first,  
  
  
  
Your friend has past. 5 more shall die when the Christmas Eve clock strikes 9:00. No survivors.  
  
Neopia will fall.  
  
No survivors.  
  
SG"  
  
Trista stared at the note. The cards. The cards were the key. Only 5 other people had bought the cards.  
  
3 of them were her close friends, 1 was a mystery, and the other. . .was herself. She cried. There was no escape  
  
for anyone. Shadow Gazer would kill until she was the only pet. Trista got up. Sarina. She had to tell Sarina.  
  
Trista walked the lonely path to Sarina's house. Pets stood around in merriment. She seemed to be the  
  
only one on the street that was real. Everything and everyone else were like paintings, paintings in a museum.  
  
Trista wanted to rip through the canvas and join the others, but found that her legs only moved towards Sarina's  
  
house. 10, 20, 30 minutes later, Trista and Sarina sat outside on Sarina's porch.  
  
"He's. . . . You're sure?" Sarina asked, staring off into the paintings herself.  
  
"There's no question. His remains were all over the place." Trista pulled out the note. "This was on his  
  
kitchen table." Sarina took the napkin and read to herself.  
  
"Five more. . . . but. . . . who-"  
  
"The card owners" Trista answered, "Sarina, that's us. . " Sarina looked into her pocket. She pulled out  
  
the Special Edition card.  
  
"But that's only four. You, Me, Ashton, and Richard. Whose the fifth?" Sarina asked, a little panicked.  
  
"I don't-" There was a siren. Sarina and Trista listened intently as an ambulance past Sarina's house in a  
  
blur. Trista could barely pull out the words from the Walkie-talkie, "Victim: Toy Master. . . " before the  
  
ambulance tore past Sarina's house, and down the street at 70 mph.   
  
"Well, that just leaves us four" Trista answered Sarina.   
  
" At 9:00 p.m.? That's in-" Sarina looked at her watch, "6 hours!"  
  
"Well, that gives us 21,600 seconds to figure out how to stop Shadow Gazer from killing-" but Trista  
  
was interrupted. Sarina had grabbed onto her arm.  
  
"Trista, what if Shadow Gazer already got-"  
  
"Let's go!" Trista said, figuring out the rest of the sentence in her head. Trista ran down onto the street.  
  
She looked to her left, and sighed in relief.  
  
"Thank God!" Ashton and Richard walked up to Trista.   
  
"Trista, Denver. . . I Saw.. He's" Ashton began.  
  
"I know" Trista cut him off.  
  
"Let's think about this somewhere else" Richard said, holding a sobbing Sarina in his arms.   
  
"There's no where to run, Richard. We're the final 4. The final four that are going to die with a  
  
warning. If Shadow Gazer kills us all, She'll continue without warning until all the pets in Neopia are dead."  
  
Richard began to play with his feet. Ashton looked at Trista's face, and he was suddenly filled with rage beyond  
  
any he had experienced before. He walked over to Sarina's deck and stood up on a chair. Trista , Sarina, and  
  
Richard looked up at him, as he began to shout at the top of his lungs:  
  
"No one messes with us. Shadow Gazer's goin' down!" 


	8. Chapter 7:The Plan

? The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
  
  
Chapter 7: The Plan  
  
  
  
  
  
Richard and Sarina walked off towards one end of Neopia, while Trista and Ashton walked to the  
  
other. Each pair was carrying a stack of papers, and a staple gun. Sarina past a telephone pole and quickly  
  
whipped out her staple gun and stapled a flyer up on the pole. It read:  
  
PROTECT YOURSELVES!!!!! KEEP SHADOW GAZER AT BAY!!!!!!  
  
Town Meeting Tonight!!!  
  
Where: 17820 Neopia Drive  
  
Neopian Central, Neopia 67834  
  
When: 5:30 p.m. December 24  
  
  
  
Save Yourself and your generation. Learn more tonight!  
  
Sarina smiled, and moved onto the next telephone pole.  
  
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Richard asked her, putting his arm around her and looking  
  
at the town pets, meandering around.  
  
"I sure hope so, if not, well, I don't even want to think about it" Sarina answered. They moved onto  
  
the next pole.  
  
Ashton and Trista walked in silence. Ashton looked up the street. There stood about 15 young pet's  
  
surrounding the wishing well.   
  
"I'm gonna wish for. . . A scooter!" a little Acara said excitedly.  
  
"I want another fuzzle" said a kyrii, dragging along a blue and green fuzzle.  
  
"I want a toy car!" said a small buzz.  
  
"I want a new Peophin Brush" a vain little Peophin neighed.   
  
"I want" said Ashton, intruding on the young pet's conversation, "My life to be sparred." Ashton threw  
  
50 Neopoints into the wishing well. The little rets looked up at him with wide eyes, until finally a small male  
  
wocky said,  
  
"Well I want a golden Wocky shield" which excited the little pets back into their own conversation  
  
again.  
  
"You know" Trista said, "You don't have to scare the young ones. They've got Christmas to look  
  
forward to. We probably don't." Ashton stepped in front of Trista, preventing her from taking a step farther.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well it's just that..."  
  
"Listen Trista" Ashton said, making her look up at him, "You're the leader of this crazy campaign, you  
  
know that. If our leader doesn't even believe in us, than who will?" Silence. 10 seconds, 20 seconds.  
  
"But-"  
  
"No Buts" Ashton said.  
  
"Ugh, you sound like my mother" Trista laughed. "Alright, I'll try."  
  
"Ah, but Yoda says, young padowin learner, 'There is no try' " Ashton said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah" Trista said, smiling a little.  
  
4:00, 4:15, 4:45, 5:00, 5:30. Pets from all over town arrived at Trista's house for the meeting that  
  
would change Neopia History. Trista lead all the pets into her backyard, and had them all sit on the lawn. She  
  
then ran up to the front of the group, and looked back at Ashton. He nodded. Trista took a big breath, and  
  
turned back to the crowd, a little nervous.  
  
"Pets of Neopia. For all of you who don't know who I am, my name is Trista Inu. I'd like to star off  
  
this meeting by pressing on you how serious this matter is. Last night, our 7th victim, Denver Draik was killed."  
  
Gasps erupted in the crowd, followed by whispering to one another. Trista held up her hoof to silence them.   
  
It became as silent as the grave. She continued:  
  
"At 9:00 tonight, 4 more will die. After that, no one will be safe. Shadow Gazer will kill until there are  
  
none left. Now males, now females, no young pets. . . No one. There is one way, and only one way to defend  
  
ourselves. We must come together a s a town, and stop Shadow Gazer, before the final four are killed.   
  
Now, The final four sit before you. Sarina Shiaa, Richard Hasai, Ashton Trel ,and Myself. We have  
  
come up with a plan to stop Shadow Gazer before she can stop us! Now, who's with us!"  
  
The pet's cheered.  
  
"Alright then! Let's get to work."  
  
Trista moved down into the crowd. Sh separated the group into four sections. The final four each took  
  
a section and began to plan the final plan.  
  
Ashton stood in front of his group. "Who here owns flood lights?" About 12 pets raised their hands.  
  
"Ok" he said, "Who owns flash lights?" Every pet raised their hands. "Ok, Bring every portable light  
  
you have, flood lights, flash lights, candles, lanterns, Everything! Meet the rest of the group by the rainbow  
  
pool at 8:00 to set up. Ok now go home and get ready!" The pets cheered and scattered like flies toward their  
  
homes. Sarina and Richard had already finished their plans, and now the final plan discussed was Trista's.  
  
They listened intently.  
  
"Every inch, every centimeter of rope you own, bring it to the rainbow pool at 8:00 sharp. We'll get  
  
her for sure this time, now get that rope and meet us there in a few hours!" The pets, a little less enthusiastic  
  
than Ashton's group, left for their homes.   
  
"The plan's set then" Sarina said.  
  
"Yep" Trista said, "When Shadow Gazer comes to us as bait, we turn on the flood lights and such to  
  
reveal Shadow Gazer, Tie her up, Destroy all the cards, and send her to her maker!"  
  
"Ok, let's wait at the rainbow pool" Ashton said.  
  
"Actually, I have to go get something for myself. I see you at 8:00" Trista said.  
  
"Ok" Ashton said, "I'll see you then" Ashton leaned over and Trista felt herself being pulled to him.  
  
He gently pressed his lips up against hers, and they kissed. Trista's head was spinning. So many emotions were  
  
clashing in her head. She pushed him away.  
  
"I'm sorry" Ashton said, and he walked away towards his house.  
  
"It's not -" but he was gone.  
  
6:00, 7:00, 8:30. Trista sat near the rainbow pool. Pet's had gathered and were setting up. Ashton  
  
was there ,but he paid no heed to her at all. Finally, Sarina came over an talked to her.   
  
"It's almost 9:00" Sarina said.   
  
"I know" Trista whispered.  
  
"What are those for?" She pointed to the pair of Lock Cutters in Trista's hand.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just in case. . . "  
  
"In case of what?"  
  
"In case..." but a strange wind blew from the west.  
  
"She's coming!" Richard yelled. Everyone shut off their lights. Pets hid with their rope. Ashton,  
  
Richard, Trista, and Sarina stood right by the rainbow pool. Ashton could see Trista's breath.  
  
"Trista?"  
  
"Yes Ashton?"  
  
"If we don't make it through this, I want you to know-"  
  
"I know" Trista said. She looked up at him.  
  
"It's time."  
  
Footsteps. Ghastly footsteps, moving closer. Heavy breathing. Rattling. Footsteps. Then Red Eyes.  
  
Tension filled the air so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Trista couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She  
  
was paralyzed with terror.  
  
"NOW!" Ashton yelled.  
  
Light. Blinding light filled the air. Standing directly in front of Sarina, stood the most awful, hideous  
  
pet ever spawned. Shadow Gazer stood, bleeding black liquid, hissing , glowing in shadow.  
  
"Augh!" She screamed.   
  
Trista found her voice and screamed like her life depended on it, "ROPES!!!!!"  
  
Lassos, ropes, pets came flying through the air. Everything happened so fast. A pet fell, dead, another,  
  
thrown to the ground. Blood. Lots of blood. Then, Shadow Gazer was bound. She squirmed on the ground,  
  
growling. Hissing. She bit her gag apart and screamed,  
  
"No! Let me free, or the truth will avenge me!"  
  
"Shut up" Richard said. He kicked her. She yelped in pain, and rolled over to reveal behind her neck,  
  
a chain. Trista's feet moved all by themselves. She ran grabbed the cutters, and cut the chain. Shadow gazer  
  
flipped over and the ropes went up in flames. She was free from her bounds, and stood less than a quarter of  
  
an inch from Trista. Trista smelt death in her breath, blood on her skin, suffering in her presence. Shadow  
  
Gazer smiled.  
  
"Thank You" Trista was confused. But she didn't have much time to think. Shadow Gazer burst into  
  
flame, and floated up and up and up, until she reached the heavens. There was a yelp off to the side. Trista  
  
turned.   
  
"Whose there?" Then a Malicious laugh.   
  
"YOU FOOLS!!!!" Suddenly a pet jumped out of the shadows, and stabbed Richard and Sarina In the  
  
throats.  
  
"No it can't be!" Ashton said.   
  
"No, not you!" Trista yelled.  
  
Trista stood there, Ashton at her side. Sarina and Richard lay by their feet, dead from bleeding.   
  
"Not you. . . . " 


	9. Chapter 8:Never a Happy Ending

The Plague of the Shadow Usul  
  
Chapter 8: Never a Happy Ending  
  
Trista couldn't believe her eyes. Standing in front of, holding the other end of Shadow Gazer's chain like a leash, with a cruel smile inscribed all over his face was Larry the Collectable Card salesmen.  
  
"Larry?" Trista said, barely finding her voice.  
  
"That's right . . . " Larry smiled, and he laughed. Ashton stepped in front of Trista.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"WHY!?!?!" Larry yelled, "Why?" He laughed and laughed. Trista felt extremely freaked out. She didn't have time to think up her own version of his story. He shouted to the entire group:  
  
" NO ONE RESPECTS ME! I'm just the idiot who sells cards! I tried to get a job as a baker, but NO, I'm too ugly and too scary. Can't sell plushies. I'd scare the young pets away! So they put me in the card business, where the snickers and the jokes' began-"  
  
"Larry, you're imagni-"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Larry screamed. Trista backed away.  
  
  
  
"Finally, the Shadow Usul Cards come. And I get the idea. The revolution for myself that I had prayed for and worshiped Dr. Sloth for. Shadow Gazer comes into my shop. She was miserable. I was miserable. Perfect match. I took her as a piece in my board game, and it all would have worked, if it wasn't for YOU Trista!" Larry pointed to her.  
  
"I underestimated you Trista. And you will not ruin this for me. No one will!"   
  
It was all in slow motion. Larry jumped up into the air, his teeth showing, mouth frothing, growling and screaming at the same time. He flew over Ashton and landed on the other side of Trista. Trista turned around and saw Larry move towards her, his wings beating.  
  
"Too bad. You were extremely beautiful Trista." He lunged at her. . . . And fell to the ground dead.  
  
There stood Trista, bloody dagger in her hand, staring down at the flailing body Larry. He twitched, screaming, his wings tearing. He looked up, blood seeping out of his eyes sockets.  
  
"TRISTA!" He screamed. And then he stopped twitching.  
  
"Too bad" Trista said, "No body thought of you that way."   
  
Trista rode on her scooter, a dozen roses in her mouth. Her black dress was blowing in the wind, and tears were dripping down her cheeks. She got off her scooter, locked it to a fence, and walked into Neopia Central Cemetery. There were 9 coffins lined up in a row. Each had names and a thought inscribed on it.  
  
Shane Michael Epul (1980-2003)  
  
Fulfilling the dreams of children by selling joy into their lives.  
  
Toy Salesmen.  
  
Isabella Lynn Ruceb ( 1990- 2003)  
  
Actress, Singer, Dreamer.  
  
Artist.  
  
Marcus Daniel Ruceb (1988- 2003)  
  
Living the life at it's richest, and achieving the greatest goal ever, being the best big brother.  
  
Personal Shop Owner.  
  
The Bread Master (1910- 2003)  
  
Baking, Giving, Living.  
  
Baker.  
  
Richard L. Hasaai ( 1987- 2003)  
  
Looking at the world, with enthusiasm and optimism.  
  
Personal Business Owner.  
  
Sarina Michelle Shiaa (1987- 2003)  
  
Loving everyone, hating only pessimism.  
  
Personal Business Owner.  
  
Denver D. Draik (1940 - 2003)  
  
Solving Crime, Helping Society, His work was done here.  
  
Detective / Private Eye.  
  
Larry R. Uzzb (1898 - 2003)  
  
His last breaths were sad, but his importance lives on.  
  
Card Salesmen.  
  
Trista set a rose down on each coffin. Then she stood up, and walked up to a podium.  
  
"Friends and Family of the deceased. I have a few words to say on behalf of the deceased:  
  
Shane Michael Epul was a great Lupe. He never complained about prices, he never griped about customers, he gave away free toys to those who were in need. Everywhere he was, a smile followed. People drowned in his kindness. When the police found his remains stuffed into plushies, there was a note on his laptop. It said,  
  
'To all children,  
  
Dream. No matter how unpractical, dream.'  
  
  
  
He thought only of himself. A free spirit. Rest in peace.  
  
For Isabella Lynn Ruceb, I can only say little. I hardly knew her, except for a few passing hellos' and watching her countless times on the silver screen. She made her mark in history as a great actress and singer, and impressed upon all of us, how short life can be. Her greatest words were in her movie ' 26 hours'. She said  
  
'Live life, like your next breath will be your last'.  
  
Marcus Daniel Ruceb was the greatest brother ever. He always talked of his sister in a good fashion. Even if she had made a fool of herself, he'd say 'that's my sis.' We should all follow his example.   
  
If anyone had never been in The Bread Master's Shop, I must say, I'm sorry. You missed it in its prime. You missed the cheer, the smells of freshly baked bread, the laughter, the friendliness of the very air you breathed. The Bread Master was a pet of charity. I can only hope my life could be as meaningful as his.  
  
Larry, the murderer, lived a sad life. His thoughts betrayed him into madness. He did not do these horrible acts on his own will. His insane mind drove him to drastic measures, incapable of confinement. I can only hope god has mercy on his soul.  
  
I knew Richard L Hasaai, and Sarina Michelle Shiaa well. They were two of my best friends. Their lives were filled with merriment, and joy unsurpassable. For they had found something with more power than fire. Love. They had found each other in their last hours together, and I am sad to announce were engaged, but never married. Yet their spirits live on among us, sharing, loving, keeping the spirit of Christmas and every holiday in our hearts. May they rest in peace, together.  
  
And finally, I cannot stress enough the importance to Neopia of Denver D. Draik's lifetime. If it wasn't for his clues, his thoughts, his intelligence, Neopia would have fallen. His last hours were spent serving us, solving the mysteries, that lead to the capture of our murderer. Even though it is hard to grasp that he is not with us anymore, he will always be in the sky, watching over us.  
  
Shadow Gazer was not the criminal. Larry was. Shadow Gazer was his messenger, and I'm happy to announce that her soul stays at rest, for the time being at least. So for everyone, everywhere, be at peace. The plague of the Shadow Usul has been beaten. Amen."  
  
The ceremony ended. Pets scattered everywhere, some crying, some with blank looks on their faces. Tobey walked up to Trista. He hugged her.   
  
"Trista, I'm so sorry" Tobey said.  
  
"I'm fine" Trista answered, sniffling a little.  
  
"You saw 'The Italian Job' right?" Tobey joked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I'm not fine" Trista said.  
  
"Speaking of movies, I was wondering, do you want to go see a movie tonight? We could stop by the coffee shop after."  
  
"Actually, I already have a date. I'll see you later though, and thanks for asking."  
  
"Yeah, ok."  
  
Trista waved and walked over to Ashton. He put his arm around her. They looked at Denver, Sarina, and Richard's graves.  
  
"Never a happy ending" Ashton said.  
  
"You're right" Trista said. She looked up at the sky. The sun had set, and a few stars began to fill the sky. 


End file.
